Tag: truth

Posted in theology

God’s Voice: Understanding Biblical Revelation Today

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A man I follow on X asked “Do you think God still uses visions and dreams today? Even if it’s non-normative?“

I answered “No. The scripture as given is sufficient. He speaks through His Gospel, not direct revelation at this time. Heb 1:1-2. Rev 22:18-19, 2 Tim 3:14-17, 2 Pet 1:19. There is nothing that a vision or dream could say to us directly that would be better truth than what is already written.“

Another lady piped in and replied to me that SHE hears His voice. “He reveals things directly to me and to many other Christians. The Bible tells us “my sheep hear my voice.“

This verse is a vastly misunderstood and overused excuse for people who do not think the Bible is enough to cling to as a defense for their voice-hearing activities.

I said, “You’re not an actual sheep, so you’re not actually hearing God’s voice. Interpret both sides of the verse the same. Heb 1:1-2a says, ‘God has spoken to us in His Son’ which means the Bible. More here, please watch 18 minutes of truth why you’re not hearing Him.“

And I linked to Justin Peters’ wonderful video series titled Inigo Montoya Series. The series, Peters wrote, “dives deep into the world of commonly misinterpreted scriptures, carefully unraveling misconceptions and providing clear, biblically grounded explanations.” The pertinent entry I’d linked to was My Sheep Hear My Voice.

She replied, “I’m not going to watch a video. I read the Bible. And I have a relationship with Jesus.“

Maybe it’s just me. But if someone said I’m doing something that is against the Bible, or, if I’m following someone who teaches falsely, I’d investigate. I’d consider the advice. Jesus is too important to reject the possibility out of hand. But in discernment work, too often that is exactly what I’ve found that people do.

Hers was a typical reply. The person defending a false notion or a false teaching never reads the verse or the link and comes back to address it in the conversation. We must reason together over scriptures, it is the only common ground we have for truth (IF the person is saved it would be common ground, if not, then they need scriptural truth anyway.) Always bring the Bible verses into the conversation as quickly as possible.

So I told her that “I’d gently suggest that the Bible warns constantly about the dangers of deception. You may indeed have a relationship with Jesus, OR you may have a relationship with an entity that is pretending to be Jesus, who as you claim “reveals things to you” outside of the Bible. Mat7:21-23“.

Her reply, “You probably shouldn’t assume that about people you don’t know.”

Again, ignoring the verse that has been offered, not using verses in her reply, and making an accusation flung back within seconds is par for the course in discernment conversations. Prayerful conversation seems to be out of fashion. Careful consideration of the scriptures seems out of fashion.

I’d replied (and I’m not including the entire conversation here), “I am not assuming anything about your salvation, and in fact I’ve already said you may be saved or you may not be, I said watch out because deception is warned of constantly in the Bible. Matt 7:21-23 is real. God is not speaking to you. 😦 You’re being deceived if you think so…

There were a few more replies, one which misused a verse in Jeremiah and a statement that said she doesn’t want a relationship with a “silent and powerless God”. It is sad to see that she believes if God is not speaking directly to her that God is ‘silent and powerless.’

Posting Justin Peters’ famous quote seen below only elicited a terse reply “That’s a false teaching.”

This lady has a podcast. It’s with her husband. It’s fairly new and thankfully does not have a lot of followers yet. But this is the thing. Discernment is more important than ever as opportunities for us to be deceived abound. Opportunities also abound for us to damage our witness either by promoting false doctrines or false teachers, or by our behavior in our defense of the truth. You have to know when a conversation has run its course and when to bow out, and that moment hopefully occurs before I get angry or sarcastic or fling an ad hominem accusation of my own.

Continuationists are wrong, but as to the person who believes the miracle gifts continue, it isn’t usually a salvation issue. (It can become one later, though). But the unteachable attitude is unbiblical. The accusations also are not warranted. The youngster (and she was young) declaring with full confidence “‘Justin Peters’ quote is false teaching’ or as she stated flatly later “You are absolutely wrong” is sad to see.

We speak the truth, in love. We gently bring people along,

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 2 Timothy 2:24.

I do a lot online and I need to remember these admonitions also. Be kind, be firm but loving, don’t take things personally. When the conversation becomes pointless or you’ve shared scripture that has been rejected, move on.

Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
Proverbs 14:7

The successful pursuit of wisdom presupposes at least earnestness and reverence. The scoffer shuts himself out from the capacity of recognizing truth. ~Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Go from the presence of a foolish man—when the time comes that you see you can do him no good; for “evil communications corrupt good manners.” Thus Samuel “came no more to see Saul,” when he saw that remonstrances were unavailing with him, though he continued to “mourn” for him, remembering from what high estate he had fallen. ~Ellicott’s Commentary

Posted in theology

Uncle Jimmy died: What Happens After Death?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A relative of mine died. My great-uncle’s son who would be my cousin once removed. He was 85. He was married for 62 years, ran our family business for 60 years, led an active, and by all accounts, a happy life.

I remember him as a jokester, lots of bonhomie, personable. In our large Italian family, the relatives all bought houses close to each other, and all us cousins played while the grownup men smoked cigars and played cards and the women sat around the table drinking coffee and talking. We were all around each other, all the time.

I hadn’t seen him in 50 years and I was not close. But still, as I age and my older relatives age even more, it is a time when I do think about eternity.

He was given a “Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial at the Catholic Sacred Heart Church” which performs a Rite: Roman-Latin rite.

The life he is now living, the one living after death, is likely not as happy.

To the saved, death is something we may be concerned about, but we know our life after death will be filled to the brim with joy and love. Death is a mysterious and foreboding thing to the unsaved, woefully ignored until one’s number of days is up. But as to the other demographic of humans who will face Jesus, the unsaved who THOUGHT they were saved, departing this life into the next will come as a huge shock.

EPrata photo

Matthew 7:21-23 gives us a glimpse of that moment,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘

If a person is a lifelong atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Wiccan, Druid or any of the other religions, and does not repent before death, they will go to eternal hell. That is what the Bible teaches. Jesus said,

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me”. (John 14:6).

If you do not go through Jesus who died to cleanse us, then the person will remain in their filthy sin and be punished forever for it.

Matthew 5:22, But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

Matthew 10:28, And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 13:42, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

He is the ONLY way. He is the way, the door, the narrow path. All other religions are false, including Catholicism.

Milan’s Duomo. EPrata photo

Resource: Are Catholics Deceived? by Mike Gendron

What is hard to see, too, are misguided comments on the Obituary page. I see these all the time. People say things like,

You’re in the loving arms of Jesus now

Rest in peace

See you on the other side

You are now in the residence of the Lord. You will find peace and comfort in his arms.

Until we meet again

No, none of these comments are true if the person spoken of did not repent of the neglect of their soul, address their sin, and seek the One True God. But the unsaved do not really want to contemplate fiery hell, eternal torment, and gnashing of teeth. And the ones who falsely believe they’re saved think they are all set for heaven.

I don’t know the final state of the souls of my relatives who have passed, of course, but it doesn’t look good. One hopes for the best but prepares for the worst upon the Day of Judgment. Time will reveal.

The Rich Man in torment in Hades begged Abraham on the other side to send a message to the Rich Man’s brothers so they would not have to come to this place.

But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'” (Luke 16:29-31).

And Who rose from the dead? Jesus. He lived the perfectly holy life that we cannot, pleasing God the Father. Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial lamb that God requires, shedding His blood for us. God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus ascended to glory to be seated at the right hand of the Father. If we repent of our sins, Jesus will apply His blood to our lives and we are covered, forgiven, and may join Him in glory when we pass.

Some say that a discussion like this at a time of someone’s mourning is inappropriate. But when, WHEN is the time? It is a perfect time to speak the truth in love. It’s evident that those giving misguided consolation need to hear this, even if it is too late for the departed.

Satan deceives many. But there is only one way to heaven. No matter how many platitudes one may write on an obituary page, there is a reality that is more real than even the real earth, and that is eternity.

for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7-8).

Romans 13:11
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.“

Posted in theology

Why ‘God Told Me’ Isn’t Biblical

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve been thinking a lot about the rampant issue in evangelicalism concerning “God told me.” So many men and women are running around with alleged prophecies and all sorts of messages the ‘voice’ supposedly told them.

Even more sad is the number of people that believe that God is speaking to these so-called prophets. If God is speaking now outside of the Bible, it makes the Bible INsufficient for all teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, and makes 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which says it is sufficient, into a lie.

What is the Doctrine of Sufficiency of Scripture?

That scriptural fact notwithstanding, there is another issue with the people who claim God is telling them things, whispering things, and/or promising them things outside of the Bible. The news He is allegedly bringing is never the kind that is spoken of in the Bible. Like, what kind, you ask? Well,

When Jesus was commissioning Ananais to go to Saul/Paul, Ananias balked a little, saying that Saul has been persecuting everyone all over the place. Jesus replied and told Ananias how much Paul must suffer for the sake of His name. Here is what was said,

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” (Acts 9:15-16).

I remember people oohing and ahhing over the testimony of HGTV’s Fixer Upper co-host Joanna Gaines. Did God tell Joanna that she will suffer much for His name? No. Was her prophecy something like this-

But the Lord said to her husband Chip, “Go, for she is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show Joanna how much she must suffer in behalf of My name.“

Somehow, suffering for the Lord is never part of the ‘prophecies’ or conversations these ladies purport to have in these conversations with God. What DID ‘Jesus’ allegedly promise Joanna Gaines?

“I hear God say very clearly, he said, ‘Joanna if you trust me with your dreams I’m going to take Magnolia further than you could have ever dreamed so just trust me.’“

Sure. Sure. It always seems like ‘God’ says he will give the lady a comfy life and make all her dreams come true.

Isaiah was a true prophet of God. God raised Isaiah either bodily or in a vision to the throne room.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.” (Isaiah 6:7)

How lovely is this. It brought tears to my eyes. Isaiah was gifted with a vision of the throne room. Aghast that a worm such as he would be near the holy God, the angel flew to him and touched his lips with a burning coal and says his sins were atoned for. Isaiah lived 700 years BEFORE the cross. In heaven there is no time. Isaiah’s sins were atoned for even though on earth Jesus had not incarnated and died yet. But God’s word is SO SURE that Isaiah’s sins were atoned for even though the event had not occurred yet in our time.

EPrata photo

But isn’t it curious how these women who claim ‘God’ comes to them never seem to have the same reaction other people in the Bible have when confronted with the presence of the actual Jehovah? Which is to cower in fear and despair that His holiness shows up the depth of our sin?

But God was not giving Isaiah this vision just to offer a tour of heaven. God had a message for Isaiah. He was calling Isaiah to be God’s prophet! What exciting personal news did Isaiah receive? It was that Isaiah was going to speak God’s word, but no one would pay attention.

Isaiah wondered how long this dire circumstance would be his calling.

Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12The LORD has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6:11-12).

Gulp. Not so cheery is it? It is one of the most supremely majestic scenes in the Bible. And yet the news was not so personally beneficial to Isaiah, as these conversations nowadays always seem to be with the claims of conversations with God.

In this scene, all is spoken in august language, reverentially, mindful of the Holy One of Israel, the Ancient of Days whose robe filled the temple.

Now we turn to a prophecy and vision Beth Moore supposedly had. She was lifted up too! She even went farther than Isaiah in that Jesus showed her things as HE sees them, not as Isaiah sees them, which is that we are undone before a holy God. No, Beth Moore was given a peek at how Jesus sees the church, and in another dimension no less!

Beth said, “You know what He said just a few days ago? “Honey, I just want you to know we’re just beginning.”

Honey?

And it was as if I was raised up looking down on a community, as I saw the church in that particular dimension- certainly not all dimensions, not even in many, but in what we will discuss tonight, the church, as Jesus sees it, in a particular dimension. Oh, glory! That meant I had begun. Hallelujah! But He was telling me, “When this ends, we ain’t done with this. Honey, this is what we do for the rest of your life.” And He said those words to me over and over again: “Believe Me. Believe Me.”

God said ‘We ain’t done with this honey’? Really?

Sure, sure.

God told Peter when he was old, that he’d stretch out his hands and go where he did not want, a prophecy most interpret as Peter’s crucifixion-martyrdom.

Contrast this to today’s prosperity prophecies. When God speaks it’s to tell women they are enough, they are a princess, so beautiful, will have a platform, will do wonderful things. God has a wonderful plan for your life, God is going to do amazing things. It’s always centered around something pleasant for the woman, not so much about advancing God’s holy plan.

Will He do as amazing as a thing as render all Israel a desolate land? An agonizing death? A suffering life? An ignored Prophet? These were actual prophecies in the Bible.

The canon is closed. God’s new revelation ended with Revelation 22. I’m not saying God CAN’T speak now, of course He can. It’s just that He closed the Bible with a warning not to add to the book nor take away from it. He said that at the present time, He would not be speaking. It’s not a question of His ability, it’s a question of His consistency.

Think carefully about the prophecies (conversations, whispers, voices) are saying to these women (and men). The content of these conversations is inconsistent with God’s previously delivered word. The language use is inconsistent with God’s previously given word. Compare to the Bible. They all come up short, because the canon is closed and the word as given is sufficient.

Study your Bible to “hear” God’s voice. His word is God-breathed.

Posted in bible reading plan, Uncategorized

Bible Reading Plan thoughts: The Terrible Duty of Truth

Posted on by elizabethprata
Our Bible Reading Plan for today brings us to some difficult Psalms, Psalms 9-11.

I love these Psalms where David exhorts to God for justice, for the wicked to perish, for nations that rebel to be put down.

In today’s loving and tolerant climate, such imprecations are seen as unworthy of the Christian.

But they’re not.

The wicked (as we all were, to be sure) who reject the kingship of Messiah and refuse to repent, do polluted things against our most Holy God. These things are evil, they are wrong, they are a grief and a cause for mourning in the Christian that our God should have mud splattered on His holy name. We concentrate so long on the wicked person, praying for salvation, urging repentance, we forget the reason we do these things is to proclaim the name of Jesus among men and urge men everywhere to repent of the evil they do against Him.

I’m with John MacArthur when he said in his book Found: God’s Will:

“If the truth offends, then let it offend. People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while.” John Macarthur

In today’s Psalm, David said

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)

O, terrible thought! It gives me no delight to proclaim the fact of hell and the individual’s sure condemnation of those who reject Jesus. It gives no consolation to know that nations will fall into the lake of fire to remain trapped in punishing fire for all eternity. Yet Spurgeon said it so well,

Many of God’s ministers have been accused of taking pleasure in preaching upon this terrible subject of “the wrath to come.” Indeed we would be strange beings if so doleful a subject could afford us any comfort. I should count myself to be infinitely less than a man, if it did not cause me more pain in speaking about the impending sentence of condemnation, than it can possibly cause my hearers in the listening to it.

God’s ministers, I can assure you, if they feel it to be often their solemn duty, feel it always to be a heavy burden to speak about the terrors of the law. To preach Christ is our delight; to uplift his Cross is the joy of our heart; our Master is our witness, we love to blow the silver trumpet, and we have blown it with all our might. But knowing the terror of the Lord, these solemn things lie upon our conscience, and while it is hard to preach about them, it would be harder still to bear the doom which must rest upon the silent minister…

Reminding the world of the wrath to come is part of the terrible duty of truth. We stand firm in it.

duty 2
Photo EPrata

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

The red rage of the Pharisees yesterday and today

Posted on by elizabethprata

One moment in the life of a blogger who writes discernment essays:

Stumble into the kitchen, bumblingly make the coffee. Yawning, plop down in the chair and fire up the laptop. As the blue light turns to screen saver, I launch open the browser. As the coffee finishes perking and I finish yawning, I pour a cup and look forward to the day. My prayer is to reach women with the truth, to use scripture rightly to turn them away from the false so they can see the glory of Jesus.

Oh, look there is a comment on my blog. Let’s see what it says. It’s from a woman named Karen Setters.

“You and your blog are some of the most inaccurate and heretical false accusations against some of God’s most anointed and accurate teachers in the Body of Christ. How any informed Christian listens to you after the nonsense you spew against God’s people is beyond me! May the Lord Jesus Christ turn your heart, mouth, and blog to understanding the truth of His Word and His people, because obviously you don’t. Satan is using you and when you stand before the Lord at the final day, you are going to be shocked and maybe lost if you don’t humble your Phariseeical heart and listen to what the true Spirit of God says to you.”

In addition to naming me as a heretical, inaccurate, nonsensical, Pharisaical, satanic person, in Karen’s second comment she also called me an antichrist and a coward.

Okey dokey then, lol, I surmise that the truth of scripture did not reach her heart! It’s a powerful reminder however, that those women held in the clutches of a false teacher or who cling to false doctrine clench untruth tightly. The more anger and nasty language that emerges from their mouth demonstrates the further distance away from Jesus they actually are.

Remember, fellow blogger ladies and fellow witnesses, when you point out a false doctrine or a false teacher, anger is often the reaction. It always has been and always will be. Look at the Pharisees’ reaction to Jesus words and deeds and to His designated witnesses like Paul and Stephen. They reacted with gnashing teeth, fury, stone-throwing, blinding rage. They became murderous. (Luke 6:11, Matthew 12:14, John 8:59, Acts 7:54…)

This is because they loved their sin and they loved the darkness. What happens when you poke a rabid bear? A reaction like Karen Setters’ is what happens. Seething, frothing anger and nastiness. In the Luke 6:11 verse it says the Pharisees and Scribes became actually mad with rage. It’s an unthinking, non-rational, senseless, red rage. Matthew Henry says of the Luke 6:11 verse,

Pride, obstinacy, malice, and disappointed self-confidence were “all” combined, therefore, in producing madness. Nor were they alone. Men are often enraged because others do good in a way which “they” do not approve of. 

This kind of rage is also an example of how powerfully sin wants to remain. Sin is the second most powerful force on earth. Jesus’s power in regeneration is the most powerful, but for those left untouched by His hand on their heart, sin reigns and the rage shows just how powerfully it is lord of a person.

The most violent reaction to the truth is murder. Martyrs abound in ever generation and in every country today. As Mark Dever and Burk Parsons and Jesse Johnson and Pastor Gabe of WWUTT.com remind us,

The truth is divisive. Jesus said it would be and we see of course that it is. Jesus said in Luke 12:51,

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

It’s His truth that divides. The truth is the dividing line. In between the gulf of truth on one side and lies on the other, is often anger. The only reaction we can have when met with such anger, even to martyrdom as those in the “closed countries” are met with, is compassion and love. (Mark 10:21).